5 Days Crash Course on Life

The events happened so unexpectedly, yet so intensely. 5 different groups of people, 5 different discussions, 5 lessons. During the first 3 days, i was somewhat disoriented, lost and confused. Yet thankfully, Day 4 and 5 helped me find my way again, and drew a conclusion to this 5 unexpected days of intense learning.

Day 1
On science and technology, and its potentials to benefit or threaten humanity. It was also about the wisdom, morality and choices of humans. This day was probably the most disturbing day because my beliefs in life seemed to have been usurped. While we were sitting in that small classroom, i felt that the ideas we were discussing were so big that they could engulf the world (and i'm sure they already did). I have learnt the importance of standing firm to your own beliefs and values system because mine were swayed. Yet I have also learnt that it is never easy to stay true to yourself all the time.

Day 2
On the concept of work and money. I was exposed to an entirely different and new perspective, and it seemed to have overruled my previous knowledge establishments on these aspects. I was rather perturbed, yet I found myself totally unable to express those inner doubts. At the end of it all, i have learnt to be more open to new and sometimes conflicting ideas. I need to know how to find the balance when this happens.

Day 3
On the realities of society and people. Sometimes, the society is such a powerful distorting force. It forces people to become someone they never intended to become without realising it. This was the day which allowed me to see these sides of people. We discussed about human character, facades, and inter-personal relationships. I have gained a deeper understanding to the way people function in society, and i reflected on myself. Perhaps it is saddening to realise that, as much as you resist or dislike it, the changes which are enforced by society are inevitable.

Day 4
On values in life, and having a strong belief system. I have never had such an in depth with my mom before. This day not only allowed me to re-orientate myself, to pause and re-chart my course, it brought my mom and i closer as well. She reconsolidated the lessons i have learnt for the past 3 days and helped me to organise my thoughts. My many doubts on life were answered by her wisdom. She also taught me about the buddhist philosophy and certain chinese values to pivot myself on my course in life. Through this i realised that i am not ready for religion or to follow so strictly to a set of philosophy yet. But there are certain values and principles which i would apply for myself.

Day 5
On seeing a more complete picture and moving on. Had a very meaningful discussion on my previous 4 days with a very special and important person in my life. This discussion reinforced and fine-tuned some of the things i have learnt for the past few days. The new perspectives i have gained allowed me to see a more complete picture of the previous issues. It is like, 4 different puzzles were pieced on the 4 days, and Day 5 is the day when all the puzzles are completed. This was also the day which i experienced the loss of something valueable to me. Our bicycles was blatantly and skillfully stolen. For the first time in my life I stepped into a police station to make a report. I reported not to recover back my bike cos i know it is quite impossible already, i actually did it for the experience. Oh wells, there is always something to be learned in every situation. So i learned the most out of it. Heh..

I am thankful to all my mentors for the past few days for teaching me so many things(Yeps, even to the bicycle thieves). It may not have been intended, but I did gain a lot. While it is not as if my life would take a sharp turn and move in an entirely new direction, my soul is definitely more enriched than before. I guess these 5 days were so impactful on me because they allowed me to see things which i was never exposed to before. This meant that I was actually having a rather small sense of the world and its workings before. The previous days seemed to be like a prepatory course to equip myself to see more of life. Now, I anticipate more lessons in life to come. =)

2 issues

Today, these 2 issues hit upon me.

Intelligence versus Wisdom

The former is easy to acquire, many people have it. What about the latter? As students who constantly pursue knowledge and incessantly expand our intellectual capacity to learn new things, have we got the depth of character to back it all up? Having your own values, principles and personal convictions is not as easy as it seems. It is more than knowing what is right and what is wrong. It is more than having opinions. It is about having your own stand and being unshakened even in adversity. It is about choices you make and the reason for doing so. It is invoking feelings and emotions into knowledge.

Infinite knowledge

"The more knowledge you gain, the more you realise you don't know." I think it was Socrates who said that, though i can't really be sure. Nonetheless, I found it very true. The thing is, is one aware of his/her own ignorance? Nothing wrong being ignorant because no one can ever acquire all the knowledge within, not less outside the world. Being aware of your own ignorance is humbling, and it makes one see a much larger world. Yet there is always a fine line between mere awareness and acting on it. How many people would actually be disturbed enough by their ignorance to do something? In fact, in asking rhetorical questions, how effective is it really? Has enough thought been assigned to these supposedly "thought-provoking" questions to deem them worthy? (Irony intended, if u know what i meant)

Thinking beyond one's limit really wears out the brain...

Expression Capacity

I don't know how true this is. For me, I think there is a capacity to expression. One can never be able to fully express in more than one form. For the past month or so, i have channelled much of my "expression capacity" to music, thus for the lack of updates in the form of words.

Nonetheless, thanks Emily for reminding me of this stagnated pool of thoughts. haha.

Life recently has been utterly enriching. Seems like as I implore further into this realm, the bigger the world becomes. There are just so many more things awaiting my discovery, and i am enjoying the experience. Even though i may lack the ability to participate yet, being an appreciative audience is exhilarating enough.

Have been thinking about the art of conversation lately. I believe that effective communication is essential to maintaining and improving a relationship of any kind. Sometimes it is not just about frequency, because that can be adjusted with time. It is also not about the content of conversation. It is the method of conversing. Two people who can communicate well have no problem about content. On the contrary, people who can't communicate with each other will have problems even if there are an array of topics to be discussed.

A good conversation requires a good deal of genuine interest, active listening, understanding, appropriate commenting and a few dosages of empathy. Although this is not the only formula for a good conversation, but I believe these are the basic building blocks.

Yet even with these fundamentals, there are just some people whom I just can't sustain a conversation. Perhaps it is the clash in values, the absence of a common ground, i don't know. Or maybe the problems just lie in the people. (yeah, maybe i have a problem too. =P)

Special Day

It was the company that made yesterday special, more than anything else. I truly enjoyed every moment spent. Thanks so much! =)